[5] Wingspan was designed by Elizabeth Hargrave, a health consultant in Silver Spring, an amateur birder, and a former policy analyst for NORC at the University of Chicago.

[10][11] Hargrave pitched the concept for Wingspan to Stonemaier Games in 2016, a company from St. Louis which had previously published Viticulture and Scythe.

[9] Stegmaier also praised the engine building mechanism, describing that "[the] key for me wasn’t the birds, but the satisfying feeling of collecting beautiful things".

[6] The game's artwork, which included 170 cards, was hand-drawn by Ana Maria Martinez Jaramillo, Natalia Rojas, and Beth Sobel.

[25][26][27] The game's action system was praised by Matt Thrower from IGN, who described it as "an excruciating balance between adding birds, feeding them and scoring points".

[30] Similarly, Angela Chuang from Science described the engine building mechanisms as "compelling", and their resemblance to community ecology.

[34] The game's theme was positively received as increasing accessibility, with Kois noting its appeal with a wide variety of demographics.

[4] The New York Times also complimented the game's illustrations and components, including the pastel eggs, which was described as "enticing as Jordan almonds", and the birdhouse.

[30] This sentiment was shared by Zimmerman, who criticised the possibly "overpowered" action of laying eggs that resulted in the game's ending to be "one-note".

[40] By March 2021, sales of Wingspan had reached 600,000 and 1.3 million by September 2021, which is the highest number of copies sold for Stonemaier Games.

The Oceania Expansion included 95 new bird cards, end of round goals, player mats, and a new food type called nectar.

[44][47] The Oceania Expansion also added birds with game end powers, which trigger after the final round of play has been completed.